


Of Death and Fear

by Mask_of_Brutality



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Child Death, Deathly Hallows AU, Guardian bashing, M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Miscarriage, Mpreg Harry, Pre-Rise of the Guardians (2012), Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-12
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2018-07-23 13:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 17,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7465323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mask_of_Brutality/pseuds/Mask_of_Brutality
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If Harry had died after the Final Battle and accepted as Guardian of Death, how would he change meeting Fear along the way?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1- The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nightcape](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Nightcape).



(Harry Potter canon until the final duel between Voldemort and Harry. Before the ROTG movie-verse)

“Avada Kedavra!”

“Expelliarmus!”

A blast of bright white light encased the entire courtyard from the two spells connecting. Order members, Hogwarts students, and Death Eaters alike turned away from the light, all in awe at the show of powerful magic created by the wizards. 

However, all Harry knew was Voldemort’s shocked face followed by a white light, excruciating pain, and then...nothing.

Harry opened his eyes and found himself on the swing set in the park near his relative’s house. In Surrey. Nowhere near Hogwarts. 

Jumping out of his swing in alarm, Harry spun around trying to understand what was going on and why he wasn’t fighting Voldemort. Examining his surroundings, he noticed it wasn’t exactly like the park he usually hung around, for one it was the wrong season; a warm summer night and yet not a single creature or vehicle was in sight. Also, as he looked closer, he noticed that some things looked faded and blurry, almost like the time he fell in Dumbledore's pensieve viewing memories, the last being Dumbledore admitting that Harry had been a tool all along, a horcrux to be raised and slaughtered in the end.

‘Damn bastard’

“Hello Harry, I’ve been waiting for you. “

Harry spun around, wand out and a curse at the tip of his tongue. In the swing seat he had previously vacated sat a man smiling serenely, not even the slightest bit alarmed at having a wand in his face. This man could have been a Malfoy, except without the obvious Malfoy arrogance and superiority complex. He had pale, almost white hair that fell in silky locks to his shoulders, softening his defined aristocratic face. His skin was an unblemished pale white that seemed to have an inner glow, similar to his clothes, all whites and pale grey flowing robes covered in a dark grey cloak held by a moonstone brooch in the shape of a crescent moon. However, the man’s most distinguishing features were his pale ice blue-grey eyes. They spoke of ancient things past, love and triumph, but also war and grief; an inhuman creature superior to mortal, and it was these eyes alone that made Harry stand down, wand lowered before this entity.

“Who are you?”

“I go by many names, but you may call me Man in Moon, or Manny for short.”

Harry's eyes widened in shock. The Dursley's may have avoided mentioning anything they considered abnormal, like magic, myths, and legends, but even Harry had still heard about the Man in the Moon.

"So you do know me. That's good, it'll make things easier."

"Um, it'll make what easier? And why am I here anyway? I need to go back to my friends, we're in the middle of a war and-"

"Your fight in that time is over." Manny stated calmly, as if he hadn't rudely interrupted Harry. "The Dark Lord you've been fighting is dead, and has been for the past decade. All your families and friends are living peacefully with the war behind them. It's time for you to fulfill your true destiny.

"W-What? Past decade, that can't be right. I've only been here for a couple minutes at the most-"  
Manny interrupted once again. "You technically should be dead, but we've been waiting for a long time for you, young Master of Death. Centuries in fact."

AN: Self-edited 9 July 2016


	2. End of a Life; Beginning of Another

Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter or Rise of the Guardians except for any and all OCs. 

"W-What? Past decade, that can't be right. I've only been here for a couple minutes at the most-"  
Manny interrupted once again. "You technically should be dead, but we've been waiting for a long time for you, Master of Death. Centuries in fact."  
_________________________________________________________________________

"Master of- but I dropped the Resurrection Stone in the Forbidden Forest, that makes me no longer the Master, right?"

“You were chosen as Master of Death a long time ago, we merely had to wait until you were ready. That’s how you survived the Killing Curse, you weren’t to die until you officially gained your title and willingly greeted your death. Physically holding them doesn’t matter then as they are attached to your soul. Now as Master of Death you can finally fulfill your role and permanently relieve the old Master. Or, you can stay in peace at this park forever.”

“So… I wouldn’t be able to join my parents or friends, ever?” whispered Harry as he hugged himself tightly.

“I’m sorry Harry, but it’s not what you’re meant to do.” murmured a solemn Manny.

Thinking deeply, Harry knew which option he’d end up taking, even if it wasn’t much of an option. Though the idea of peace and normality sounded amazing, he knew, and apparently Manny knew as well, that Harry would get bored at the lack of adventure and adrenaline filled moments this park would offer.

“What would my job entail… if I do happen to accept?” Manny beamed, an interesting sight for a being seemingly made of moonlight.

“As Master of Death and one of my chosen Guardians, it will be your duty to guide and protect the spirits of the children to the afterlife safely. The journey is often frightening and dangerous to them, and many an evil spirit that would love nothing more to prey on their spirit, thus a good fighter and even better protector is needed to aid those who died too young.”

“Okay. And, um, what happened to the previous Master of Death? Did they die from one of those creatures you mentioned?”

“The final blow was a creature yes, but the fatal blow in truth, was loneliness."

" Then how do you expect me to avoid the same fate?" Harry shouted, eyes flashing in anger. "Are you purposefully dooming me to another fated death, forcing me to become your self-sacrificing hero for the Greater Good, until there's nothing left of me. Until you find another unfortunate fool to take my place?" Harry raged at the being before him. He refused to spend the rest of his miserable existence, an eternity, as a slave and tool to another higher being, just so that they could watch him squirm and suffer once more. Manny merely smiled at Harry before doing something that shocked him: he gave him a hug.

Stunned, Harry didn’t try to struggle. All throughout his life, Harry rarely had any affection thrown in his direction, not from Ron’s half-hearted one-armed hugs, Hermione’s smothering chokeholds, Mrs. Weasley’s overbearing hugs, and definitely not from his relatives. Even when he was suffering from the loss of Sirius or other deaths in the war, those that swore they cared about him would always smile and keep their distance, none truly bothering to comfort him.

Manny spoke in a low soothing tone while slowly rubbing Harry’s back, causing him to fall limp and snuggle deeper into Manny’s arms. “Sweet Harry, I won’t let you die. The old Master of Death and I have made it so once you accept the role, it will create a link, a link between you and your soul mate. Also, depending on your mate, you will have the ability to carry offspring.” Manny softly chuckled at the sight of Harry cuddled into him like a kitten.

“I could have children? And a family?” whispered Harry.

“Yes.”

Harry nodded in acceptance. “I’ll agree. For the protection of the children, and the possibility of having a family of my own.”

“Very well, you’ll go through a slight transformation first.” said Manny before kissing Harry on the forehead, right above his trademark scar. From where lips touched his skin, a tingling feeling spread throughout his body and he felt his hair lengthen while watching scars on his body disappear along with his clothes. Surprisingly, he didn’t feel embarrassed or awkward being naked in front of Manny. At a nod from Manny, Harry conjured a mirror wordlessly. In shock at his wandless and nonverbal magic, Harry opened his mouth to ask Manny until he got distracted by his reflection, stepping closer to stare at the ethereal being before him.

Gone was the scrawny, malnourished 5’1 body of Harry James Potter. In his place stood a figure of 5’9 with flawless porcelain skin. His raven black hair tamed by its heavy waist length and so dark it had hints of blue, easily softened the sharp angles of his aristocratic face, enhancing his Black and Potter ancestry. He had a slim physique with slight muscles, and slightly flared hips to easily aid in pregnancy, completing his androgynous figure. However, the most stunning feature in this creature were its eyes. Once a lovely shade of emerald green, Harry’s eyes were now Avada Kedavra bright in intensity, as equally deadly and startling as the spell itself. His lightning scar, right where Manny had kissed, was but a memory.

“This is your base form so any changes you still desire to make, merely think about to gain results as you no longer need a wizard’s focus. The ring on your right finger will be the only amplification you’ll ever need, with practice of course.”  
Glancing at his hands, Harry saw a ring on both his left and right ring fingers. The ring on his right was made of simple platinum with a series of amplification runes engraved on it. Set in its center was an emerald to help his magic become clear and pure. However, the ring on his left hand was made of pure silver vines that seemed to wrap snugly around a clear gem. It was a beautifully crafted ring, but to Harry, it felt...incomplete, missing something essential. Shaking off the strange mood the ring put him in, he decided to add the finishing features to his form. Running his hands through his hair, streaks of dark crimson red followed his fingertips before he pulled it into a low ponytail, using a pale crystal clamp in the shape of a crescent moon to hold it, adding a satisfying weight to his head. On his upper arms and shoulders, Harry imagined two miniature dragons, a British Venomdart and Norwegian Stormcrown, wrapped around on his skin; one with blues and silvers and vivid yellow eyes, while the other created of multiple shades of green with silvery white eyes. The two dragons wiggled and then seemed to literally crawl off his arms, becoming living, miniature dragons the size of a terrier.

‘Hello Master.’ they hissed in unison. ‘What do you wish of us?’

Unfazed at the fact that the dragons came off his arms or were mentally communicating with him (he’s seen weirder), Harry bent down to stroke the two, who then purred in pleasure like felines.

‘There’s no need to call me Master, my name is merely Harry. What are the names of such majestic creatures?’

Puffing up at Harry’s flattery, they two dragons glanced at each other before replying. 

‘We have yet to be given a name-’ began the blue one.

‘-shall Master Harry name us?’ finished the green one.

Inwardly sighing at the ‘Master’ part, Harry thought of fitting names.

‘How about Soreth for you, and Talath for you?’ Harry said, first pointing to the blue Venomdart and then towards the green Stormcrown.

‘That is acceptable.’ the newly named dragons replied in unison before climbing back onto his arms and melting into his arms as tattoos.

Standing up once more, Harry finally decided to put clothes on. Envisioning a dark smoky gray tunic trimmed in silver over a white undershirt, as well as black loose pants that allowed maximum movement and still clung to his legs, held up by a red sash. A simple black robe went over his outfit to complete the look, well complemented by the black dragonhide combat boots. Once done, Harry looked towards Manny who had been calmly staring up into the sky until Harry had finished. Now that he was done, Manny walked over in front of Harry and out of nowhere, pulled out a long package and placed it in Harry’s hands.

“Those dragons will be loyal to you alone, and as you’ve probably already noticed, you have a mental connection to them. You’re connected through your magic ring, so take that off and you won’t be able to hear them anymore. Oh, and one more thing before I forget. This, along with the ring on your left hand, are the last gifts from the previous Master of Death who wanted his successor to receive in order to ease the burden. The ring will change to its true form when you finally meet your soulmate, and once you both willingly accept and complete the bond, a similar ring will form for your soulmate. They will both gain protection magic and give you two a mental bond, the stronger your trust, the stronger your bond will become. And in this package, the weapon traditionally used by the Master of Death, though once you take it, it will also choose one more weapon form for you to wield.”

Unwrapping the cloth, Harry found in his hands a beautifully crafted scythe, its blade over five feet in length in a strange shiny black metal that smoothly joined to the pole, seven feet in length, pale silver, and nearly light as air in his grasp. Giving a few experimental swings made a lovely whistling noise through the air, and Harry smirked in delight, though he gasped when the scythe glowed blue (think of Soul Eater) and transformed into two-foot length daggers made of the same material as the scythe, though they both had an onyx stone set in the hilt, the Deathly Hallows insignia in white on the stone.

“To switch its form just send a pulse of magic through the weapons and they will go to their opposite form, don’t forget to give it a name. As a final note, you’ll notice that you have more powers that will aid in your duties, but you’ll have to explore and train them on your own time. Also, once every century, for that’s how long it’ll take for my gifts to reach you, I will send you something that may help you. Here’s is your first gift from me, the ability to speak and understand any and all languages that ever existed, or will ever exist, especially the ‘dead’ languages in the mortal and spirit world. Alas, now is the time to send you off into the past where your predecessor faded and into your new life as…”

That was the last Harry heard as his surroundings started morphing and he sunk into a comforting darkness.

“Farewell, Merith.”

AN: Self-edited 9 July 2016

WARNING: If there is severe attachment and love towards the Guardians and you would hate to see them bashed, don’t read chapter 4 because that has serious Guardian bashing that I couldn’t avoid.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter or Rise of the Guardians except for any and all OCs.

Previously on ODF:  
“...Alas, now is the time to send you off into the past where your predecessor faded and into your new life as…”

That was the last Harry heard as his surroundings started morphing and he sunk into a comforting darkness.  
____________________________________________________________________________

Verdant green eyes glowed out the dark woods in concentration at the docile lake before him. It was a peaceful day, nearing evening as the sky turned a lovely shade of periwinkle blue. A quaint little village was merely a few minutes away, a well-worn dirt path marking generations’ worth of footsteps where women and their daughters came to wash the laundry for the day, planning preparations for their midday meal; where boys and their fathers would fish for their families or have a quick wash after a hard day’s work.

From out this village, a young boy of ten years sneaked out into the direction of this lake, unknowing of the green eyes upon his figure as he ran closer to the lake. As the child bent down in order to bathe away from the nagging presence of his parents, he suddenly halted as a shiver went up his spine. The hidden figure in the shadowed woods silently drew out their weapon as he scanned the area through narrowed green eyes. A rustle went through the tall weeds, slowly heading towards the now frightened boy.

“Salazar!”

Jumping nearly a foot in the air with a startled yelp, the boy by the lake’s edge turned at the sound of his name being called from the voice of his best friend in the entire village, Godric Gryffindor.

“Sal, your parents are getting worried. It’s late and we’re supposed to be at home for supper now, and you know all sorts of creatures are lurking about in the dark. Where’s the self-preservation that you always talk so highly of?” said Godric, a lad of ten with bright red hair and slight muscle already building on his rather short figure.

“Well- where’s your sense of adventure and bravery that you boast of? Scared of the night?” snarked Salazar.

Smug in his answer, Godric replied while hopping out of range, “There’s a difference between bravery and stupidity.”

“Are you calling me stupid? What about the time you and ‘Wena-” The boys quickly walked back to the village bickering, unaware of how close to the drowning of Salazar they had been. 

The green-eyed figure tried to quickly slink off into the night to its next location, but was halted by a magnificent black sword at his vulnerable neck. Green eyes followed up the length of the sword to a figure that would incite terror into most who saw him, spirit or human; a name none dared to whisper in the dark of the night for fear of bringing his attentions towards them. Pitchiner Black, the Boogeyman.

Tall and almost unhealthily thin with ash pale skin stretched over his frame, he was draped in long black robes that pooled along his feet and seemed to meld with the surrounding shadows and absorb the surrounding light.

“Ahh, if it isn’t the one and only baby killer Merith out to catch another unknowing child alone for the kill.” spoke the Boogeyman.

“I am merely doing my job, something that seems to give you great pleasure in interrupting Boogeyman,” the figure known as Merith replied flatly, though his anger hardened eyes and tense body belayed the irritation rising within. “As you should know by now, I don’t hurt children like you do. I guide them safely through the Nether Realms in order to reach their final destination.”

Snarling in fury, Boogeyman pressed the sword further into Merith’s neck, breaking skin. “I don’t hurt children! I warn them from danger and cause them to fear the unknown that could probably kill them. All anyone ever sees from you is dead children or unknown creatures hanging around children right before they die, that doesn’t realistically show the signs of a protector and guide of children, now does it?” sneered the Boogeyman.

“Those are my helpers for when I can’t be there personally. I don’t know why I bother explaining myself to you, but the soul of a child is extremely vulnerable as prey to many things in the Nether Realms, especially a new soul, so it’s my job to protect the child from the moment they die, no matter how many times I want to prevent their death. Besides, fear is worse than what I do, at least I comfort and protect them, all you do is cause irrational fear and pain on their day-to-day lives, fear of nonsensical things that won’t hurt them at all.” Merith said smoothly as he pushed the blade from his neck, ignoring the self-inflicted wound on his left hand.

“Then please explain how those irrational fears just saved the life of that child from death?” smirked Boogeyman as he smugly waited for a reply. However, the smaller male merely continued to gaze at his left hand, more specifically the ring adorning it. It was a rather well made ring with what used to be a beautiful crystal, but was now morphing into a pitch black cut into a smooth oval shape in the ring, melding with the silver vines that seemed to tighten around the gem as they darkened and grew a few miniature leaves in the design. But what fascinated both males was the silvery grey flecks that seemed to glow within the gem as the spread along its’ surface.

Boogeyman shook his head, this wasn’t the time to be distracted by a ring, no matter how much he felt connected to it and the person wearing it.

“Well, are you going to ans-”

“Shut up!”

Startled by the abrupt change in Merith’s tone, the Boogeyman watched in stunned silence as Merith seemed to quickly fade away into nonexistence. Slamming his fist against a nearby tree in frustration, Boogeyman slid into the shadows to his lair, thinking intently on the past century and of Merith.  
______________________________________________________________________________

For a long period of time, Pitch had been observing (read: stalking) the newest Guardian spirit from a distance. The spirit didn’t try to socialize with fellow spirits, nor did he and his predecessor ever truly explain his job, so whenever strange beasts or he appeared, all the spirits knew that child would most likely be dead, and thus everyone came to the reasoning that he was a child reaper that took children's’ souls and ran off with them. It was rather stupid reasoning to Pitch, but many spirits fell for such rumors, especially when they were encouraged and spread by the Big Four, the first four Guardians MiM had created. Young, foolish, and naive, those four were always quick to accuse those that didn’t agree with them as dark and evil, haters of children, and plotters of world domination, which made it surprising that they made the Spirit of Death a Guardian, though MiM probably forced their hand. Their obvious dislike and aggression towards the youngest and newest of the Guardians caused the mysterious spirit he knew now as Merith to become further isolated, a fact that didn’t seem to bother him and only further intrigued Pitch, more than he’d like to admit.

So he started to irritate and intervene with Merith’s job by sending his minions and sometimes giant pulses of fear towards children nearby wherever he found Merith, sometimes saving their lives and sometimes not. Pitch didn’t usually scare and invoke fear like this, preferring to subtly induce or reinforce the fears within mortals, both useful and pointless. However, scaring like this gave him a close up look at Merith, who though his irritation often rose, never fully confronted Pitch for his actions, though there was often a flash of relief seen on Merith’s face when the childrens’ lives were saved. Taking it a step further in order to gain a better reaction, Pitch was nearly knocked off his feet at the sight before him. From a distant viewpoint, most of what Pitch saw of Merith was long black hair and a lithe body wrapped in gray. Now as he was closer though, Pitch saw what a beauty Merith was and couldn’t imagine anyone willingly wanting to avoid being in his presence.

Soulful green eyes, almost glowing in the shadows, were set in a sharply defined face with angled cheekbones, a cute pert nose that rested above cherry red cupid bow lips. Framing the aristocratic features was silky black hair adorned with occasional strips of velvety red locks streaking through, even in the short, messy bangs that had slipped out from an intricately designed braid that fell to slightly feminine hips. A delicate neck seemed to widen into broad shoulders, still slimmer than Pitch’s own, and lead off into thin, slightly muscular arms. Pitch was so distracted he nearly didn’t block Merith in time to converse. Surprised, yet secretly pleased at Merith’s glare of defiance and rebuttals, never once showing fear at Pitch’s presence unlike everyone else.

Finally slipping into his lair, Pitch sat upon his throne and smirked to himself. Merith would belong to the Nightmare King very soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Self-edited 9 July 2016


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter or Rise of the Guardians except for any and all OCs.  
The creature mentioned is not mine. She belongs to D&D Monsters Manual.

Previously on ODF:

Finally slipping into his lair, Pitch sat upon his throne and smirked to himself. Merith would belong to the Nightmare King very soon.

"Speech"  
_Telepathy_  
'Private thoughts'

* * *

 

Merith slipped into the Netherworld before collapsing by a nearby tree in shock. Raising his trembling left hand, he once more gazed at the ring and the stone within that once more flipped his world upside down, though not in the positive way he had been hoping for. He knew it was partially his fault for not explaining his job properly and then not doing anything when the rumors spread, but he had gotten so distracted by the thought of having someone just for him that he didn’t care what those idiots said about him. But the thought of his mate believing those rumors, even by a little bit, hurt so badly and Merith just wanted to hit himself for his carelessness.

‘How stupid can I get, honestly, why would my mate accept me when I never stopped those rumors about me. This isn’t the Wizarding World where I didn’t really care of what the public thought of their precious Boy-Who-Lived. This was supposed to be a new start, a second shot at happiness and I’ve already ruined it with the one person that’s supposed to make me feel whole again. Maybe the Dursley’s were right after all. I’m nothing but a worthless freak, unlovable and dangerous to be around others.’

A soft shove on his right shoulder broke Merith out of his increasingly depressing thoughts as he looked up to see one of his most loyal familiars Myst standing above him, concern filling her intelligent brown eyes. She was a rare afterlife beast called a displacer and looked rather similar to a large panther, excluding her six legs and two fur covered tentacles that stretched from her shoulders to form broad leaf shaped tips, deadly poisoned spikes lining one side. Her tentacles were meant to cast shadows ahead of her in order to trick prey towards her, but when Merith had found her injured and scared next to the body of her dead mother, one look at her pitiful brown eyes and he had no choice but to take her in. He raised her to fend for herself in the Netherworld by herself, but when it came time for her to leave, Myst stubbornly stayed so he created a familiar bond with her. This allowed her to join the telepathic that he already shared with Toreth and Salath, a useful gift when it came to the ceaseless task of collecting and guiding young souls to their destination.

'What's wrong Brother Merith? Why are you making sad smells? Are you hurt? Do you need me to bite someone?' She rumbled worriedly in his mind.

Flapping sounds from above descended as his other two familiars landed near their master.

'Stupid feline. Not everything can be solved by biting, Master is simply wanting to mate with the Shadowed One to bear hatchlings.' hissed Soreth, sniffing haughtily in Myst's direction.

Merith just sighed in exasperation at the two girls that never seemed to get along.

'It must be a female thing I don't know. It's probably a good thing my mate is male then, I'd end up confused every time we talk otherwise.'

Thinking about his mate however brought a new wave of despair that didn't go unnoticed by the three familiars. Toreth, who had remained silent up to this point, finally rose from his lookout position and ambled to his master. Gently placing wicked looking claws on Merith's legs, he emitted a low grumble. Having gained eye contact with his master, Toreth opened his jaws-- letting loose a miniature cloud of smoke and ash shoot towards his startled face. There was a moment of silence as Myst and Soreth gaped at the two and Merith sat there in shock. Toreth merely climbed down and ambled back to his previous spot, the perfect picture of nonchalance.

Merith burst out laughing, his soot covered face crinkling in joy, tears of  
happiness streaking across his cheeks.

"Thanks for that Toreth, I really needed that. It doesn't, shouldn't matter what my mate thinks of me; if he can believe some stupid rumors over me, then he's not worth it." Nodding his head, Merith stood up and quickly stretched before looking at his familiars.

"OK, enough slacking off, we've got work to do, and the shades can't do all of our jobs. Soreth, I want you to head south, I'm sensing some strong souls there, take a group of shades with you for backup, lots of L4 and L5 creatures tend to linger down there. Myst, head east to the Siberian region, there's usually heavy blizzards around this time of the year, so expect lots of spirits in need of a guide. Talath, you can go on rest, you've been working real hard in the Americas all day. Everyone knows what they're doing so let's get to it."

No longer reacting to the strange feeling of Talath climbing up his arm before melting into a deceptively still tattoo, Merith watched as Soreth and Myst took off before heading off in a different direction. Death for adventurous children almost always occurred around night.

~ODF~

For weeks following their first official meeting, Pitch soon found himself irritated by Merith's new behavior, most likely caused by that damn ring. Ever since that ring, whenever Pitch tried to start another conversation or attempt to follow him around, Merith simply faded away into the legendary Netherworld, only popping out somewhere else to watch over departing souls.

Though this made it rather difficult to approach Merith, Pitch wasn't at all discouraged, in fact, the possibility of a chase further excited him, making him more determined to trap Merith in his lair to...interrogate him.

He planted his shadows by the house of every child's home and waited patiently for the moment his pretty triggered a shadow. Leaving him to merely appear on site and quickly shadow bind Merith before he could react, taking him into the shadows to the lair.

"What the fuck bastard! Let go of me Black!” yelled Merith as he was spat out from one of Pitch’s personal shadows. Icy green eyes glared up at the black clad man as he feebly struggled from the bonds wrapped snugly around him as he lay on the ground. Pitch slinked predatorily around Merith, all the while wearing a rather creepy shit eating grin.

“Now now Merith, there’s no need to make such a fuss, I merely wanted to talk, that’s all; nothing too difficult I presume?”

Merith merely snarled silently in his kidnapper’s direction before examining his surroundings he was currently stuck in (because the damn bonds were blocking his ability to melt to the Netherworld) like he had been trained into his previous life. They were in a large, almost cavernous room whose only contents appeared to be a statuesque yet simple throne of wrought iron upon a dais. He really didn’t want to be here, having already been rejected by his mate and isolated from other spirits, Merith just wanted to suffer in solitude as he did his job until he finally died from heartbreak.

Smiling at Merith’s stubbornness as he forcefully tugged at the smaller spirit’s bonds until his lack of balance caused him to stumble into Pitch’s ready embrace. Smoothly tugging out Merith’s left arm from the bond, Pitch continued his previous examination to find out what strange phenomena had happened the last time they were face to face, absently noticing Merith’s tensing body and intensified struggles.

The cause of all this drama was just as fascinating to Pitch as its owner. The inlaid gem of onyx with interspersed grey flecks seemed to call to something deep within him to the point that his chest, his very being ached.

“Why does this...this ring-call to me so strongly?” murmured Pitch. Tightening his grip to near painful, he continued to whisper into Merith’s ear. “What sorcery is this that you are using upon me? Don’t you dare lie or change the subject; with the fear you’re emitting, I’ll know and keep you here trapped until you answer.”

Continuing to struggle for a few minutes, Merith finally slumped over in defeat as he slowly started to explain the cause and purpose given to him by his predecessor and the Man in the Moon, carefully omitting anything of mass importance; meaning anything about his past life-or would it be future life- and the existence and his ability to do magic. Pitch noticed the discrepancies but ignored it to remark upon later as he soaked in the knowledge his...mate, gave him. Soulmate.

Deafening silence filled the lair for what seemed to be an eternity as Pitch continued to stare down at a slowly hyperventilating Merith in his arms, face unreadable. The green eyed spirit started to tremble as Pitch continued to stay silent, before he finally couldn’t take any more of the stress.

“It’s not like you have to reciprocate or even do anything, it’ll be like I don’t even exist, I won’t bother you or get in your way, you won’t be affected by the bond at all-”

“Can you shut up and stop rambling?”

“But, why?”

“Hmmm?”

“Why even bother? You clearly don’t care about me or the bond, if anything, you seem to take great pleasure in demeaning me and my job. All based solely on what you’ve heard from rumors which also makes you a hypocrite. From all the things they’ve said about the ‘dark, power-hungry Boogeyman who scares children to death for the mere fun of it’, I should’ve been avoiding you. And yet I ignored their rumors and decided to gain my opinion of you, even before I found out that you were a hypocritical bas-mmph!”

Slightly chapped lips pressed roughly against Merith’s own, interrupting his nervous rant. Lips slipped and slid against each other, one almost timid in its exploration, and the other curious and slightly possessive. The two spirits finally split apart for breath, Merith panting and slightly flushed, cheeks darkening even more at the sight of Pitch licking his lips.

“Hmm. You taste...sweet, yet there’s a hint of something...spicy. That was much more pleasant than I expected.” Merith blushed even harder but tried to focus as Pitch continued to speak.

“I’ve decided to give this a try. We shall ‘court’ and I will decide if I want to consummate this bond at a later date, are we in agreement?” Pitch questioned as he casually released Merith who stumbled a bit from shock and lack of balance.

"Uhm, okay?"

Merith tried forcing it down, but couldn't help the small spark of hope blooming in his chest at Pitch's words.

"We'll work on your language skills at another time but for now..." murmured Pitch as he tilted Merith’s face towards him and claimed those succulent lips with his own, enjoying the spark of hope and desire that lit up those verdant green eyes. Pitch’s last conscious thoughts before he became lost in the sensations were that he would never be alone again. As they continued, Merith opened his mouth to deepen the kiss.

Oh yes, he definitely wouldn’t be alone again.

* * *

AN: Self-edited 9 July 2016


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter or Rise of the Guardians except for any and all OCs. This chapter has heavy Guardian bashing, but I gave the excuse of the “foils of the youth” (if that’s a quote, it not, it’s mine!) BEWARE: This may have a TRIGGER! Thought it best to say so now.**

_Previously on ODF: "We'll work on your language skills at another time but for now..." murmured Pitch as he tilted Merith’s face towards him and claimed those succulent lips with his own, enjoying the spark of hope and desire that lit up those verdant green eyes. Pitch’s last conscious thoughts before he became lost in the sensations were that he would never be alone again. As they continued, Merith opened his mouth to deepen the kiss._

_Oh yes, he definitely wouldn’t be alone again._

* * *

  
**_Time Skip (6 years)_ **

The Annual Spirits Celebration was the one big event that most, if not all spirits looked forward to every year on New Year’s. It was a night of peace and truce, when spirits from all over the world; no matter who or what their job. It was the night for relaxation, gossip, and just having a good time as they announced the beginning of a new year. But, the talk of that night as it had been the past few years, was of The Couple.

Ever since those two had been together, due to many of the misconceptions about their roles in the spirit world, many had warily watched and waited for the end. Having two powerful spirits immersed in the darkness together, with what seemed to be a hatred for children didn’t seem very wise to many, including the four young Guardians. Those concerns seemed unnecessary and silly over the years at the stunning chemistry between the two; the tenderness, love, and devotion in their every movement and expression could be nothing but genuine, definitely not the emotions truly evil spirits could display. This year, whatever doubts remained were wiped away when Pitch walked into the room with a heavily pregnant Merith on his arms, both practically beaming with parental pride and joy.

However, some spirits, including one group in particular, despised the thought of Merith and Pitch’s bond and pregnancy. One of the most vocal in their dislike for the couple was the Big Four, the main chosen Guardians selected by the Man in Moon to protect the children. Being the youngest of the spirits at around 50 years of age, (since Merith had been destined to be a spirit and Guardian way before them) they still largely held the prejudices of mankind, that of same genders bonding and males conceiving. Another reason for their irritation at the announcement of the baby was that the baby would be born stronger and with two centers. Babies born of spirits are already naturally stronger than the average spirit, but with both parents being gifted by MiM guaranteed two cores. Spirits chosen by MiM like Merith and Pitch were gifted with a center connected to an emotion or ideal held strongly by all of mankind, like North’s center of Wonder or Sandy’s center of Dreams. And since Merith was a favorite of MiM, and Pitch was one of the strongest spirits, the chances were high that this child would be twice as strong.

That was the main reason North was grumbling lowly in Russian while frowning deeply in their direction. Tooth was fluttering about with a sneer of disgust disfiguring her pretty face as Sandy merely shook his head in disapproval. The usually hot headed E. Aster Bunnymund was merely watching the couple, arms crossed and face unreadable. They kept an eye on the couple throughout the night prepared for confronting the two.

_Later that evening_

"No."

"Please Koz, just one sip. I'm thirsty."

"You're pregnant. Alcohol is bad for you and the baby, so my answer is still no."

"But Kozzie I’m thirsty and they haven’t served anything but alcoholic drinks all night, and since you refuse to leave and get me water or trust anyone else to, I’m going to get dehydrated.” pouted Merith up at his husband, adding teary eyes for increased effect.

Pitch avoided looking in his direction in a desperate attempt to avoid caving into the demands of his six-month pregnant husband. “Kozzie, you wouldn’t want me to suffer from dehydration, right?” said Merith sweetly as narrowed green eyes focused intently on Pitch.

“Of course not, but-”

“But nothing.” declared Merith. “The party is practically over and everyone is gone. The only reason we’re still here is I need to rest a bit before we go, plenty of time for you to safely leave and get some water.” The or else was clear.

He audibly gulped at the unspoken threat and trying to subtly back away from the intimidating figure of the other male with a baby bump, swollen ankles resting elevated upon another chair, and the absolutely terrifying death glare fixated upon him. Inwardly stating his absolute lack of fear towards his husband in any way, shape or form, Pitch bravely opened his mouth to give a firm no.

“Of course my love. You know that I hate to see you suffer in such a way.”

Well, he never said he was the brave one.

Sighing in relief at the beaming smile the raven-haired sent his way, he gave a brief kiss to his husband’s cheek as well as the proudly protruding belly that held his unborn child. “Papa will be back soon little one, so be good for Mommy.”

And with that, Pitch slipped into the shadows before Merith could do more than blink.

“Not mommy, I’m a male dammit!” yelled Merith rather uselessly into the empty room.

“That only makes this situation even more freakish and unnatural.”

Padding out into the light crouched Bunnymund as he scowled menacingly at a frowning Merith who was slowly wobbling off his chair. “It’s bad enough that two child-hating, dark spirits are together, even more so because they’re both male. But to unnaturally conceive a creature you would dare call a child, it’s- it’s- it’s just…”

“Revolting!” finished Tooth as she swooped out from behind Bunnymund, North and Sandy following behind her. “You should be ashamed of yourself, the other spirits will never say it out of their fear, but this convoluted affair between you and Pitch is quite frankly, disgusting. It’d be a relief to everyone if you would cease your actions at once. And when you do that, getting rid of that demon spawn shall be next, men should never be birthing, especially when the sire is someone as atrocious and vile as Pitch Black.”

“Really?” Dark killer intent dripped like poison from those two syllables as sharp green eyes pierced the four with their scrutiny.

“If anyone should be ashamed, you four best look in a mirror. How dare you say such degrading and insulting things about my family! What fucking gives you the right to threaten the well-being of my child, my choice in husband? And saying this straight to my face when I’m alone, cowards the lot of you! If this is what it means to be a Guardian, I don’t want to be one anymore.” yelled Merith as he rubbed a hand over his stomach to soothe the slightly agitated baby within.

“You are not Guardian, you merely gained MiM’s pity. You are baby-killer, not child protector.” bellowed North as he smoothly pulled out his two swords from his scabbards, pointing them threateningly at Merith. “Thus, we must dispose of either you or demon spawn. Both works as well.”

Without a second of hesitation, North lunged at Merith with the intention to gut, only to be blocked by a deadly scythe. Frowning in concentration, Merith backed up and prodded North with the butt of the scythe, already focusing on Tooth in an attempt to slice her wings.

‘Damnit, of course Guardians decide to attack when I’m alone and vulnerable. The link between my familiars or Pitch will take up too much concentration, and they’re all too far away; knowing Pitch, he probably went to find the freshest water possible straight from Antarctica, so now I have to stall until he gets here. Lucky for me that they all prefer fighting with short range weapons, except for that bloody-” ducking the boomerang that whizzing past his ear “-boomerang! As long as I keep them at a distance it should be less stressful on my body.’

Even as he was thinking, Merith knew he was running out of time, fast. His pregnant body was highly unsuited to fighting and his own offensive style would leave his unborn child vulnerable therefore forcing him to be stuck on the defensive with his scythe. Slashing and defending against his attackers, Merith was aiming to maim or seriously injure (Dobby!) as he started moving away from his wall, hoping to keep pushing until he found an opening to escape successfully. He decided to accomplish this with a little magic, though it wouldn’t be enough to make them aware of his hidden ability nor deplete the magic feeding his baby.

Merith was focused so much on the implementation of his plan and the hassle of fighting with North, Tooth, and Bunny simultaneously, he never noticed Sandy forming and aiming a golden whip of sand slightly behind him in his blind spot.

* * *

**AN: Self-edited 9 July 2016**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter or Rise of the Guardians except for any and all OCs.**

**BEWARE: This may have a TRIGGER (blood, childbirth, miscarriage)! Thought it best to say so now.**

**Previously on ODF:**

_ Merith was focused so much on the implementation of his plan and the hassle of fighting with North, Tooth, and Bunny simultaneously, he never noticed Sandy forming and aiming a golden whip of sand slightly behind him in his blind spot. _

* * *

 

Due to their newly formed bond, Pitch starting to feel Merith’s emotions, especially when stressed, frustrated, happy, or scared; a rather annoying thing to have when said pregnant male was also enduring mood swings. Therefore, as Pitch was slipping through the shadows from the Arctic Circle (his husband knew him too well), he could feel a rising sense of panic, anger, and predominantly fear. This pushed him to move faster to where he arrived on the scene of the Guardians attacking his pregnant husband, who was showing strains of exhaustion. Lurking in the corner of his eyes as he lunged toward Merith, Pitch saw a flash of gold aimed directly towards the green eyed man.

“MERITH!”

Pitch was too slow. As time seemed to slow down, Pitch could only watch in horror as the golden whip slipped through Merith’s defenses and slashed deeply against his husband’s protruding abdomen.

Time stood still as all eyes stared at the alarming amount of blood pooling around Merith’s feet, a look of shock and pain adorning the spirit’s face.

Merith shrieked, a long unearthly note filled with pain and anguish as he slowly fell to the floor, curling up tightly to his belly. Pitch stumbled towards him, nearly collapsing as he scooped up his heavily sobbing mate, both desperately trying to staunch the bleeding. As he worked Pitch kept his face blank, only inwardly becoming frightened at the amount of blood and the possibility that he might lose his soulmate and child in one fell swoop.

“Ha, good job Sandy, almost got it.” North attempted to chuckle merrily, but both his smile and laugh were stiff, his face ashen.

“Th-That serves them right, trying to create something so dark.” sneered Tooth, though her sapphire eyes were dull with self-loathing and horror.

Bunny and Sandy didn’t even bother trying to say anything, their body language showed all the guilt and self-hatred they were feeling as they averted their eyes from the scene before them, the scene they created. Bunny was hunched over, ears flat against his head, and one move away from showing his belly in apology while Sandy had dropped the now bloody whip, his eyes filled with remorse and not a single picture forming above his head. They all flinched when Pitch set burning eyes upon them from his position near a slowly healing Merith.

“How could you? How could you bastards do this to a pregnant person, male or female? What gives you the right to decide whether we shall live or not, on whatever so called crimes we committed? We haven’t done a damn thing against you or anyone else! We just wanted to live in peace and happiness with our child, is that so bad? You could’ve taken everything from me, and for what, some petty sense of human ideals? You’re spirits, chosen by Lunaoff himself to help protect humanity for the sake of the spirit world, and then think that gives you the right to attack a fellow spirit blessed with the ability to bear a child? I should kill you right here, right now, as penalty for your actions against my family. If my family suffers for your actions, then the world will be engulfed in darkness, with only you to blame!”

The shadows within the room were pulsing and writhing from Pitch’s rage, quickly spreading and consuming all light in their desperation to reach the Guardians frozen with shock. At this rather terrifying sight, North shook out of his shock and quickly threw one of his newest creations, a magic snow globe, to the ground before shoving the other Guardians through.

~ODF~

Following their departure, Merith choked out a low moan of pain as felt contractions going through his body. Eyes widening in panic looked up at Pitch in the center of the room. Not a single word was spoken, but Pitch understood what was happening as he carefully picked up Merith bridal style and slipped through the shadows into the birthing chamber they’d set up in the lair.

Sending sentient shadows to fetch hot water and extra towels, Pitch continued to comfort and soothe his husband, silently agreeing with the muttered threats made by Merith about the Guardians.

“Pitch, I’m scared, the baby’s too early. It hasn’t been long enough.”

  
“I know, I know,” Pitch said as he quickly cleaned his hands in a nearby basin. “I’m scared as well, but we still have a chance.”

As he didn’t trust anyone to properly birth his child (even less considering what the Guardians just did), Pitch was going to be doing it. Using all the sources and knowledge he could find about birthing, he successfully helped Merith through the contractions and finally pushing the baby out. Everything seemed to be going smoothly and came out.

She was a beautiful baby, despite all the blood and other birth liquids. She had Merith’s eye shape and Pitch’s nose and cheekbones; her fair skin emphasized the tuft of black hair that would soon dry fluffy and wild, a sure sign that she had inherited the Potter hair. Her little cheeks we chubby with baby fat and overall, she was a rather healthy baby with no physical defects. Except for the large, deadly slash marring her from the left side of her neck and over her front to end at her right hip, her body cooling down rapidly in their arms.

~ODF~

Merith sobbed as he clung to Pitch, woozily transporting them both to the Netherworld despite his exhaustion. They found a brand new soul shade, their baby’s soul, being comforted by a gloomy Myst whose ears didn’t even perk up at the sight of her master and his mate, knowing that the young soul cuddled between her paws was their cub.

Despite the fatigue and pain from the earlier fight, childbirth and transporting Pitch to the Netherworld, Merith forced himself off the ground aided by Pitch and delicately picked up his baby. Because she was now part of the Netherworld, she was pale and transparent, her baby soft skin nearly gray in the glowing mist. Following one of the many paths, the former parents despondently headed towards the Gate of Rebirth, the sleeping shade held tightly against her bearer’s chest.

“Koz.”

Dull golden eyes looked at empty green eyes as they started to overflow with tears.

“I-I don’t…. I don’t think I can do this-I can’t. She’s our child. Our beautiful baby girl!” sobbed Merith as they finally stood before the Gate waiting for the approaching spirit to float closer to them. It was one of the spirits whose sole job was to guide young souls through the gate. Silently beckoning for the sleeping child almost hidden in Merith’s embrace, he hesitantly placed his daughter within its glowing arms.

“Name?”

“Jamie Black. Jamie Fosse Black.”

A numb feeling was slowly creeping throughout his body as he and Pitch watched the spirit pass through the Gate, lost from their sight. His baby girl was lost to him, forever. Something within him, deep in his soul, cracked.

* * *

 

 

Pitch seemed to be carved from stone as he sat upon his throne in silence, grief emanating from every pore in his body. Merith had been closed off in their room curled up in the middle of the bed clutching a baby blanket designed with intricate swirls of black, green, and gold. Any efforts Pitch made to get through to his love seemed only to push Merith within himself, leaving Pitch to be alone and think about the “what if’s” and “if only’s”.

‘When did it all go so wrong? What did we do to deserve this agony? Why? Our only child. If only I had been faster, if  _ they  _ hadn’t attacked!’

Pitch leapt out of his throne and started to pace furiously.

‘It’s all the damn Guardians’ fault that my baby girl is DEAD! It’s their fault that they’ve destroyed the one thing that has ever truly given me happiness by hurting Merith and my child. It’s their fault. It’s ALL their FAULT!’

Shadows within the room darkened ominously as his nightmares circled around Pitch, jostling into him as their whispers polluted the air and his mind with their devious desires.

‘Make them PAY! Make them suffer, they deserve it. Get revenge. Get revenge. Get revenge. Get REVENGE!’

Thoughts revolving around revenge, Pitch didn’t notice as the shadows began to converge upon him as they slowly consumed him. His mind was solely fixated on images of his dead daughter and the gaunt, grieving face of his husband as his sight became enveloped in darkness.

* * *

 

“Brother Merith.”

Silence filled the room as the figure on the bed remained motionless. He was curled up in the middle of the bed, sheets wrapped around him like a cocoon; shielding him from the harsh reality. Pillows and stuffing were strewn around the room as if the owner, in a fit of fury, decided to wreck the closest thing available.

The young displacer leapt onto the bed, gently butting the male.

“Brother Merith, please get up, Pitchy isn’t acting normal and everywhere is dark. Fear hurting children Brother Merith.”

Slowly, as if heavy weights were attached to every muscle, Merith lifted his head just enough to stare at Myst. Dead eyes stared blankly at the young beast where once vibrant green ones belonged.

“Bro-”

“So?”

“Brother Merith? What you mean? Children hurt from Pitch’s shadow. Need your help.”

“Where was help when my daughter was killed? It’s all my fault, I should’ve known better than to leave myself alone. Alone, alone, alone. Always alone. My own husband can’t stand the sight of me, the one who lost his child. I deserve it though, I can’t do anything right, I’m a horrible, nasty little freak that deserves punishment. But why my baby! Why not me instead? Why Fate?” Merith screeched hysterically as he furiously tugged on his hair. 

A blast of magic violently ripped throughout the room and hit Myst, causing her to fly across the room into the stone wall with a sickening thud and a large slash across her flank, nearly severing a tentacle. She slumped to the ground whimpering and barely conscious. Looking back at her master and big brother who hadn’t even noticed what he’d done, Myst slunk back to the Netherworld to meet with the other familiars.

Collapsing from pain and exhaustion, Myst barely brought up the energy to growl at a fussy Soreth licking her wounds as Toreth came over and looked at her. He grumbled and she answered back in a soft mewl, shaking her head defeated. Each of the familiars knew that the loss of their hatchling/ cub had driven their master’s mate off into insanity, but they had desperately prayed, in vain it seems, for their beloved master to not follow. 

Alas, it seems their master was loyal to the end, even in the lowest of depression he followed his mate into possible insanity, no longer feeling or caring about the well-being of the children and their souls. Now, they couldn’t do anything but protect as many souls as possible and hope that Manny would be able to fix things.

  **AN: Self-edited 9 July 2016**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter or Rise of the Guardians.**

  
S: This is Sandy’s image translation.:S  
“This is speech.”  
‘This is a thought.’  
_This is translating the moonbeams._

* * *

  
Manuel Lunaoff, MiM, or Manny to those close to him sadly sighed from his place in the room. It was a large room, simplistic in design to the point of being bland or uninteresting. That was mainly due to the centerpiece. It was a giant bowl precariously balanced on a single spike jutting from the ground. Made from pure onyx marble and covered in intricately designed runes that had been painstakingly etched into the smooth surface. Currently within the bowl was a viscous silver liquid that reflected Manny’s face like a polished mirror.

  
Around the bowl were elaborate silver chairs that automatically changed height and comfort accordingly to whoever sat upon it. However, Manny didn’t care to think of the complicated ruins that had gone into making his perfect chair or the design of the room. He only cared for the worrisome sight before him. Thanks to the collective strength, power, and knowledge of the moon guardians, they had successfully created a magical artifact to show the events of Earth. That’s why the liquid began to swirl and then clear of color at Manny’s whispered command, illuminating within to show the terrifying sight of Pitch slowly flooding the world with fear and darkness. Manny could tell that the man was grieving intensely, his eyes a dull brown instead of golden, lacking the sharp intellect and wit that once gleamed in his eyes.

  
“Bad news?”

  
Manny’s eyes remained steady on the scene in the bowl, the only sign of recognition was the narrowing of his eyes.

  
“That Guardian of yours, always knew he’d be bad for the Earth, look at it. Already half of the world has been covered in shadows and nightmares, even the adults. That monster of yours needs to be put down.” continued the monotone voice as the speaker hopped closer.

  
Manny slanted his eyes to the side as he watched the deceptively small rabbit leapt onto another chair, a wooden bowl filled with mochi in one paw and a wooden hammer in the other.

  
“You don’t understand.”

  
“I don’t need to understand anything. I understand that this spirit, Boogeyman, has to go. Whether by death or stripped of power, that menace needs to be stopped. As it is yours, it becomes your duty as a Moon Sentinel to fix this. Now.”

  
Manny said nothing for a long time, merely watching Pitch continue on his rampage and then at the increasing amount of frightened souls wandering the Netherworld and trying to find the Gate without sufficient guards, instead being consumed by malevolent spirits.

  
Finally, Manny stood up slowly, as if every move pained him.

  
The rabbit merely stared at him, the fwoop fwoop of the mochi being pounded serving as background noise to the tumult in Manny’s head. Searching within his robes, the blonde spirit withdrew a blank piece of parchment and a pure white swan quill. Upon the parchment, he quickly drew a series of sketches in silver ink, depicting both Merith and Pitch and the chaos they created. He continued to sketch out his plans to soothe and temporarily lock their powers. Done with his message, he tossed it gently into the bowl, watching as it softly glowed white before sinking to the bottom of the bowl where it will soak until the next full moon to disappear into the moonbeams that will relay his message to his Guardians. Still saying nothing, Manny gave a stilted nod in the smug rabbit’s direction and walked out the room.

  
‘I only hope that this does not end badly.’

* * *

 

North was in his workshop, yelling at elves and yeti good-heartedly as they started up work again for the Christmas season. However, the yetis (and some of the more intelligent elves) had noticed something off about their boss ever since his rather hurried arrival with his fellow Guardians from the . None of them said or even looked at each other, taking their own exit from the workshop. Even North, who ignored everyone and locked himself within his office where not a sound was heard and the offer of freshly made cookies couldn’t persuade him out.

  
That was merely a week ago and though the yetis wanted to find out what had happened that night, they wanted their boss happy even more. Plus, they did have deadlines for Christmas to meet.

~ODF~

North was worried; actually frightened.

  
Ever since that night, he had locked himself within his office, refusing to talk to anyone as he relived that horrible scene over and over again. He was filled with nothing but a deep loathing and disgust for himself.

  
Because of his concepts of superiority and the power gifted upon him, he lost sight of his center. He refused to look past his prejudice against the two spirits and see the wonder of birth, the miracle they had brought to the spirit world, the gift of new life. He was a failure and disappointment as a Guardian, he couldn’t even look at MiM, the one who picked him out of thousands to hold and protect the ideals that he held dear. This was how he spent his time in isolation, wallowing in self-pity and the loss of his naivety until it hit him; what right did he have to pity himself when he was the aggressor, not the victim. After that realization, he knew he had to move on. He wasn’t forgiving himself, no, that was for if they ever forgave him (he subconsciously pleaded for them not to, it was an atonement for his crimes), but he wasn’t going to be a spineless coward fleeing punishment as well as a killer.

  
So, he resumed working in preparation for Christmas, stoutly ignoring the worried looks thrown his way, determined to put everything into his work. At least until he saw the summons from MiM for all the Guardians to gather. Quivering slightly as he flipped on the Aurora Borealis signal to quickly summon the others, he paced anxiously as he waited.

  
‘Is this the punishment for our crimes? MiM doesn’t usually call a meeting with all of us like this. What is he going to do?’

  
A hole appeared in the ground from which Bunny agilely leapt from. The usually arrogant and proud rabbit was reduced to skin and bones, his shiny blue fur dirty and unkempt. His sunken eyes dimly glared at North before he crouched in silence, eyes vacantly boring into the ground as they waited for Tooth and Sandy. Tooth arrived within a flutter of her workers, though she seemed to pointedly ignore their worried glances at her molting feathers and the presence of North and Bunny. Finally, Sandy arrived in a swirl of sand that burst upon the ground into a gloomy cloud that he sat upon, a fake smile neatly adorning his cherubic face.  
Awkwardly, they stood in the middle of North’s workshop, looking at the floor or ceiling, anywhere except each other.

  
“Look, North, as nice as it is to see you, I have things… to do. I’m very busy after all and Easter is such a delicate process requiring-”

  
“For you to hide away in a burrow filled with nothing but a pile of useless fur soaking in self-pity and selfish feelings. It’s not all about you Bunny.” interrupted North calmly.

  
Indignant, Bunny rose to his full height, slightly towering over the Russian. “How can you say such things knowing what we’ve done? As if what we did was normal and okay, attacking a defenseless pregnant male and probably killing his child? Heartless bastard!”

  
“I have put it behind me. Anyway, MiM-”

  
“You put it behind you? Just like that and you’re done?” yelled Tooth, her face flushed bright red as she went right up into North’s face. “What gives you the right, any of us, the right to just put that night behind us when it’s ALL! OUR! FAULT! Because of us, a child will never experience life, being loved by its parents, seeing the wonder in this world, or grow into their powers. Two parents will never know what it’s like to be parents, to guide their child and show them what it’s like to grow up and explore. They will never experience that with their child and that’s because of us! WE took that from them! WE ruined that opportunity! And you just, you just forgive yourself for that?”

  
“I haven’t.”

  
“But-”

  
“I can never forgive nor forget the atrocities these blood stained hands have committed. Even if I didn’t strike the final blow it torments me, though I know it must be a thousand times worse for you Sandy.” He paused to look at a somberly nodding Sandy.

  
“However, as I forced myself to do nothing but sit in my office tormenting myself, I gained a revelation; I don’t have the right to feel pity for myself. Not when we have caused those two to suffer as they have. I’m not the victim in grief, they are. What right do I have, to be whiny and mopey in my solitude, when it is they who are in pain, in suffering, so deep in loss and depression that they may never recover. That is when I picked myself out from my chair and barged out here to work. It’s wrong to make more innocent children suffer from my actions, denying them my gift of wonder because of my misdeeds.”

  
Stunned into silence, the other Guardians stared at their fellow comrade as thoughts rushed through their heads as they thought upon his speech, though Sandy appeared as though a small weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Mentally shaking herself out of her thoughts for later pondering, Tooth was about to speak right until she saw the moonlight brighten and focus on the floor where MiM usually contacted them.

  
“North! Why didn’t you tell us that MiM was contacting us? Oh der, is this our punishment, I don’t know, what to do, what to do?” worried Tooth as she started working herself into a frenzy of panic. The frightened Fairy Queen worked herself higher into anxiety until Poof she fell to the floor amidst a golden shower of sand.  
Two pairs of eyes turned questioningly towards Sandy who halfheartedly shrugged, a series of images rapidly flickering above his head.

  
S: What? She was panicking unnecessarily.: S

  
“That doesn’t mean you go knock her out Sandy. Ya gotta calm her down.” said Bunny.

  
S: I did.: S

  
Sighing in exasperation, Bunny carefully picked up Tooth, gently swatting away the little helpers that were fussing around her as he hopped over to where the moonlight was shining brighter. Between North and Bunny, they managed to gently wake tooth who, after a brief glare at Sandy, focused with the rest as the moon finally moved directly above them, images forming within the light. Before the images could even finish the four Guardians had huddled together, heavily debating about MiM’s latest set of orders, missing the flash of a rather small rabbit with red eyes that concluded the rather odd order.

  
_Separate and detain Pitchiner Black and Merith Black indefinitely._

* * *

  
**AN: Self-edited 11 July 2016.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Rise of the Guardians.**

* * *

Frightmares neighed in excitement as Pitch turned in the clearing to stare at the newly arrived Guardians. His normally gold eyes were filled with swirling black shadows devoid of emotion.

“Ah, the esteemed Guardians have come once more to ruin lives. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” stated Pitch as he prowled silently around the group.

  
North stepped forward as he began to apologize. “Pitch…we’re sorry. I know that it means nothing considering what our actions have done to your family-”

“How typical. You can’t stand to acknowledge your faults so you cover it up to protect your Guardian reputation. There’s no reason to hide the truth, everyone here knows of the bloodstained hands you wear. The blood of a child on the hands of the proclaimed protectors of children- how far you’ve sunk. But I guess in your minds you feel righteous. ‘Any child they spawns must be as vile and twisted as its sire. Clearly it must be put down before it can bring about the Armageddon.’”

“Crikey mate, we said we were sorry-”

“Sorry won’t bring my baby girl back!” yelled Pitch as the shadows crackled menacingly. “I don’t wish to spend my time amongst baby-killers, what else do you want from me?” he questioned icily as he stood near the edge of the clearing.

“An end to this madness!” cried out Tooth as she gently fluttered forward. “We can never fully atone for what we’ve done, our actions have the death of one that we swore upon becoming Guardians to protect; we are killers and the death of your daughter will haunt us for the rest of our existence. But please, the mortals are in danger, children and adult. The world cannot handle the mass amounts of fear and darkness being emitted by you. The loss of life is incomprehensive to the point that everyone’s calling this the Dark Ages; MiM has sent us direct orders for you and Merith to desist in the this abuse of your positions and power or we’ll be forced to fight.”

Tooth had to flip backwards to dodge the dark spike jutting out from where her shadow used to be. The Guardians tensed at the blazing glower from the deranged Shadow King.

“Then it looks like you’re forced to fight. Do you think I care anymore about the wellbeing of others? My compassion died with my daughter, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let you near my Merith, even if it means drowning the world in shadows!” bellowed Pitch as he shot towards Sandy, shadows writhing around his hands to reveal two seven inch blades that curved with a sharp gleam of light. 

Swiping at Sandy, Pitch instinctively ducked under Bunny’s boomerang, slashing at Tooth as he came out of a crouch. Hearing the glide of blades, Pitch spun around in time to lock blades with North as they began to spar furiously, sparks flying rapidly as Pitch skillfully dodged and flipped around the attacks of four Guardians. Fueled by an overwhelming rage and no longer fully in control of his senses, Pitch was slow in realizing how outmatched he was until a break in the fight left him panting in the clearing, arms struggling to remain elevated and aimed towards his enemies. His pale skin was hidden beneath large bruises, his robe was ragged and even torn in some places, revealing slashes of various sizes. His face was a bloody mess and from the hollows of his sockets golden irises peered out from the dripping blood, dull with pain, fatigue, and a deep loathing.

Upon realizing the futility in continuing their fight, Pitch tried to slyly slip into the shadows only to be quickly yanked out by a golden whip wrapped painfully around his leg. Forcefully dragged to the feet of the Guardians with all the ferocity of a wild animal, Sandy threw a golden net across the fallen Shadow King, and as Pitch began to claw at the net, handful after handful of sleeping dust hit him in the face. Glaring sleepily through the gaps of the net, Pitch hissed a final threat before succumbing to the darkness behind his eyes.

“I wish we didn’t have to do this, I feel like  _ we _ should’ve been punished instead of further tormenting them like this.” whispered Tooth as Sandy used his dream sand on Pitch to find the location of his lair.

“I feel the same, but orders are still orders and this is what MiM said.” replied North sadly as he began shaking a snow globe with the location transferred inside. He threw it into the air and went through with Tooth following behind. Bunnymund carried the unconscious Boogeyman and with a tap on the earth, began making his way to their destination with a wary Sandy flying rapidly behind. The trio would head towards Pitch’s newly created prison which was devoid of all shadows and held secure by components made by all the Big Four and ancient moon runes given to them by MiM.

~ODF~

The duo slipped stealthily into the lair that Pitch and Merith called home, creeping warily through the dark, cavernous hallways. They quietly began searching the lair, on the lookout for any surprises or traps intended for intruders. Finally, they opened the door to what appeared to be the master bedroom where they found Merith curled up next to the headboard, his hair limp and greasy, green eyes blank and seemingly unresponsive to the world. North noticed with rising shame that Merith was wearing the formerly elegant robes from the Annual Spirits Celebration that had once proudly shown off his protruding belly but now only revealed a flat, scarred belly seen through the large bloodstained gaps and tears created from their fight.

“Here to finish what you started?”

Merith’s raspy voice broke the silence of the room as his eyes briefly focused on the intruders in their home. He may be a failure as a bearer and husband, but he wouldn’t let them desecrate his home or destroy the last of what his Pitch held dear.

Objects in the room began to rattle and shake, slowly twirling in the air as Merith raised his hands before flinging the objects towards the startled Guardians who nimbly jumped out of the way.

“Wait, Merith please! We don’t need to fight; we can talk it out. This doesn’t need to be settled through violence, we don’t want to fight you!”

For a moment, the barrage of objects stopped and Tooth felt a glimmer of hope that they wouldn’t be forced to fight another grieving spirit whose turmoil was created by them.

“This was started by your prejudice and senseless violence towards us; it will end with our justified violence upon you.”

This time, as Merith raised his hands, his foci ring began to dimly glow as he began pulling his magic forward in earnest. He didn’t care if he revealed his magic anymore, he just wanted them to suffer as he did, damn the consequences. Murmuring in rapid fire Latin, he watched dispassionately as a swarm of snakes, tigers, bears, wolves, hornets, and other various deadly creatures were either summoned or transfigured to attack and delay the Guardians for his true objective. He wouldn’t be able to fight them; he could feel it in his magic. Though his core was very powerful and fully in tune with his emotions, he was now weak and near unresponsive because his emotions were nearly nonexistent. He had carefully formed and nurtured a maternal link with his unborn daughter, sending across his magic and soul to strengthen their bond while ensuring her healthy growth and wellbeing. Having her cruelly ripped away from him by the Guardians had the adverse effect of a severe backlash of a severed bond and nearly rendered himself to the levels of a mediocre wizard.

But, he had enough hatred and magic for one more massive spell, a powerful curse to place his revenge on the four Guardians. Maybe then the  **_emptyhollowmissing_ ** feeling would fade and he could help heal Pitch and his own heart.

_ “Mother magic, a curse upon the four Guardians Toothania, Sanderson Mansnoozie, E. Aster Bunnymund, Saint Nicholas North. By thee time of a child’s thirteenth year, thy power dies with the death of children's faith. Here my words and bind them through space and time. So mote it be.” _

An overwhelming surge of magic burst from his chest and rapidly spiraled around Earth’s core and then settled all over the world, leaving no place untouched. All throughout the Spirit Realm, its inhabitants shuddered as their surroundings briefly flared with white light. Even in the human realm, many deeply connected to the universe felt a shift in the world.

~ODF~

As the last animal fell to the ground and North aimed his swords at Merith, he bit back a painfuly gasp, faintly hearing Tooth cry out. Deep down within his center, he felt as many of his beloved believers lost faith in him and the agony brought him to his knees as he felt his strength waning. He felt weaker and as if he had lost a major part and when he lifted his gaze to the unconscious Guardian’s figure crumpled on the bed, he felt a solemn acceptance. This was what he had done to a fellow Guardian, to another being who didn’t deserve any of their blind prejudice; if this was a fraction of what they had made Merith suffer through, then he would accept this punishment without reluctance or resentment. However-

“Orders are still orders.”


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own Harry Potter or Rise of the Guardians.**

* * *

Merith woke slowly with a soft moan as he blearily looked at his surroundings. Soft clinking met his ears; further movement had him wide alert and wary. Silver chains linked delicately from his bound wrists to trail six feet away where it melded seamlessly into the floor which was covered in intricate, yet unfamiliar runes probably meant to both conceal the room from others as well as make leaving impossible. Still dazed from using an immense amount of power in a short period of time, Merith glanced at what appeared to be his prison cell. Immediately he noticed that the Guardians probably had a hand in his prison accommodations, their remaining guilt showed in his rather comfortable cell.

The cell itself was an off white color and emitted a dull glow that allowed Merith enough light to make out his surroundings, but not enough to make a defined shadow; probably so that Pitch wouldn’t be able to find him through the shadows. It was only now that Merith fully appreciated the fact that he and Pitch were private people by nature and thus hadn’t shared all the details of their relationship. Merith confidently lifted his hand to thumb at the ever constant rings on his fingers only to feel nothing. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at his completely bare fingers, lacking the comforting weight of the ring he shared with his soulmate and his foci that’d been his aide all these centuries since being chosen as Master of Death. Without his foci ring, he couldn’t use magic, slip into the Nether Realm, or summon his familiars to help him escape. And without his ring, the one-of-a-kind ring that connected him to his mate, he had no way of reassuring himself of Pitch’s wellbeing or vice versa. He was literally locked up in this room, hidden by away by the Guardians like some useless little damsel, and stuck here due to their inability to handle their guilt face to face.

Merith held himself together by sheer willpower, he didn’t want to collapse to the ground and wail about everything wrong about his life anymore, that’s not who he was and it was that behavior that got him stuck here in the first place. No, now wasn’t the time to think about the betrayal of his so called fellow Guardians and their leader MiM, for it was only the celestial being that would’ve had the knowledge, power, and authority to successfully separate and lock Merith away. Deciding that focusing on where he was and how to possibly escape, Merith began examining his cell.

The room was twelve feet by twelve with no doors or windows. Against one wall, a full sized bed made of pure dream sand rested, designed to induce constant pleasant dreams to the sleeper and never fall apart even if its creator wasn’t near. Against another wall was an entire bookshelf, filled with tomes and scrolls of all sizes as well as all the trinkets he could imagine to entertain himself; probably the touch of North thought Merith with disdain as he glanced at shelf after shelf of knick knacks and toys. At the wall opposite the bed, rested a chest and closet probably filled with clothes; though seeing how his hands were bound, having shirts was rather pointless. In the corner furthest away from the bed was a deep hole that he assumed was his toilet.

‘Sometimes I miss the 16th century for the best creation of mankind: indoor plumbing.’

Near the toilet was...flowers growing from the wall? As Merith got closer to examine, he realized that actual flowers were growing straight out of the wall, all varying sizes and colors; breeds that would never grow together thriving in harmony. Noting that some buds hadn’t blossomed yet despite being mature enough, he cautiously poked it, only for it to reveal soap...shaped like a very decorative Easter egg. Suddenly, a deluge of warm water from what appeared to be a cloudy mist that some of the flowers was secreting and caused a drenched Merith to back away in shock, watching as the flowers sucked the mist back into their petals and as the water was quickly absorbed by the roots until it appeared that nothing had happened, except for the fact that Merith was soaked and shivering in his torn robes.

Peeling off torn bits of robe, Merith plodded wetly over to the closet and luckily found some towels to quickly wipe down. Spotting no pants in the closet, he switched to the chest, opening it to find neatly folded white collared shirts and black pants. Despite still being damp, he quickly put on the pants and picked up a shirt until he realized that with the chains a shirt was impossible to put on. In a fit of rage, Merith tossed the shirt across the room, and tried to channel his magic to break out of the chains. It was a fruitless endeavor as the many decades of being reliant on his foci had made him dependent on using it as a crutch, but that was all his fault that he became lazy enough to avoid training in the art of magic without a foci. It was going to take him a long time to be able to both gather enough magic and skill to break out of this prison, for Merith refused to wait like a damned damsel or for the Guardians to successfully hide their guilt by permanently keeping him here. He wasn’t the Master of Death for nothing, so he’d be better off pulling himself for his sake and the sake of his other half. The one he should’ve been there for after the trauma of losing their child, to console and defend each other against the Guardians that did this to them. Huffing out in irritation, Merith sat gingerly on the bed as he cleared his mind, falling into a meditative trance.

 

* * *

 

Beyond the Gate, the glowing spirit carefully cradled the new soul in its arms as it hurriedly floated to the Center Plaza, where souls of children were sorted for rebirth. Only made for children below the age of ten that were given an automatic rebirth as compared to the souls departing from a longer life in the mortal who then have to be judged for their past deeds and next placement in Rebirth, Recounsel,or Redesignate. Slowing down as it approached a Selector, the spirit held out its precious bundle for examination. A flicker of sorrow was emitted at the sight of the new soul.

“The newly created soul designated as the child of the Master of Death and the Boogeyman. Already passing the Gates after just being sent out into the world for the first time; such a shame, it would’ve had quite a story to tell.” hummed the Sorter as it picked up the soul.

“Don’t fret, for I think this little one will still have more to do out there, don’t you agree little one?”

The newborn soul stirred restlessly in the Sorter’s arms, reaching out for the comforting presence of its bearer, whining out in displeasure when he was nowhere to be found. Calmly soothing the young soul, the Sorter left the spirit and headed towards the busiest area of the Center Plaza, the Pool of Rebirth. Settling by the edge of the Pool, the Sorter gazed into its depths intently. Like many of its fellow Sorters, once a soul was granted rebirth, it was the job of the Sorter to determine where in the mortal realm the soul would be placed, whether they would start off their new life born in the squalors of Europe or raised by the Chinese royalty; they determined the start of each child’s life, which would leave imprints onto the soul as subconscious knowledge for the next life. But this soul had barely been in the mortal realm, meaning it could still be treated as a newly created soul.

“I wish you a better chance in this lifetime, I feel that we won’t meet again for a long time, little one. May you experience much.” murmured the Sorter as it gently submerged the soul into the liquid image of its new body and birth mother.

~ODF~

**_(Human Realm)_ **

“Aaahhh!”

“One more push, just give me one more push!” yelled the old midwife between the legs of the birthing mother.

With a painful grunt and a final scream, the teary eyed woman fell to the bed in dazed relief as a baby’s cry rang through the air. The next few minutes blurred before her eyes until a baby snuggly wrapped in blankets was placed in her arms. Tired eyes opened to meet sleepy brown ones as they observed the world for the first time. The woman smiled tiredly at her newborn already falling asleep.

“Hello, my son. Welcome to the world, Jackson Overland.”

~ODF~

_ TRIGGER WARNING! _

A little girl was happily playing by the river near her village, letting her imagination run wild as she carelessly hopped from place. She usually heeded her mother’s warning about being unsupervised when near the river, but the cute butcher boy had given her a lovely flower today and it had made her so happy that she dashed off to her favorite spot by the river.

Now loudly humming, she began to hop on the river rocks; unaware that she was getting uncomfortably close to the river’s edge until with a startled scream, she slipped on a mossy rock and plunged into the cold river. Disoriented and in slight shock, the little brunette attempted to swim towards the surface, but instead was dragged down to the bottom where the current was the strongest. Further disoriented as she was flipped head over heels, her lungs burning from the lack of oxygen as she made another attempt to reach the surface before a broken tree branch clipped her on the head. She gasped in pain, causing her to choke as water filled her mouth. Feebly making a last attempt, the girl reached up to where she thought she saw light, but her limbs were getting heavy, she was feeling lightheaded, and so tired. Her eyes slowly fluttered shut as the river slowly tugged her away.

She was found two days later by the village search parties, and her return was met with sobbing and a heartbroken butcher boy.

~ODF~

For years things continued in this trend with families having multiple children because many seemed to perish at a young age due to a lack of self-preservation and unfortunate accidents; leaving few children to make it to adulthood. And of those that did live past childhood, many felt as though something pure and innocent had been forgotten, causing much of humanity to take great lengths in finding those missing feelings, causing wars and explorations of the world, making civilizations rise and fall. All in search of their desires to regain the hopes, dreams, and memories of the past.


	10. Background Info for Next Chapter

Some of the information that I researched to better know who is on the Moon Council, Sentinels of the Moon and Earth. Each deity has a subgroup of Guardians on Earth who listen to them and protect both the mortal and spirit world for threats.

 Moon Rabbit

  * Various legends
  * Known for causing mischief in almost all stories he’s in.
  * Based off the idea of the Japanese version of a rabbit pounding mochi (the craters on the moon).
  * Friend of Man in Moon.



Chang’e

  * Chinese legend
  * Has the most control over the Moon Rabbit because he is her companion.
  * Has strong power within the counsel because of her strong belief in China and Japan under a different name.



★ Selene/ Luna

  * Greek/ Roman legend
  * Another important member of the council due to belief system in Greek and Roman mythology.
  * Artemis/ Diana is like a younger sibling or close relation with some voice on the counsel.
  * Selene (and her counterparts) are depicted in ancient art wearing a moon symbol (usually crescent.) While she is most often shown as riding horses, some portrayals have her driving an oxen team. When this happens, her crescent moon is formed from the bull’s horns.



★ Tecciztecatl

  * Aztec legend
  * Has a white shell on back/ top of head.
  * Arrogant character but slight cowardliness.
  * Doesn’t like rabbits due to one being thrown at him to reduce his luminosity.



★ Mawu/ Lisa

  * African legend (Bantu)
  * Twins, female Mawu and male Lisa, a hermaphroditic being that is a creator goddess that brought humans to life with clay.
  * Symbols are clay and the moon.
  * Very powerful, has a high position, if not head of the counsel.



★ Soma

  * Hindu legend
  * Associated with the moon and sacrifices.
  * Makes the elixir of immortality and considered primeval.
  * Also rides a chariot of horses.
  * High position on the counsel.



★ Anningan

  * Inuit legend
  * Chases his sister around the world and constantly looks starved unless it’s the new moon.
  * Inuit culture.



★ Man in Moon

  * North American/ European legend
  * Mainly as portrayed in both story and Rise of the Guardians.
  * Synopsis of Man in Moon is he was protector of the Moon and Earth and when the darkness that created Fearlings and the former General Kozmotis Pitchiner, he defeated the army and cast the Fearling infested general to Earth weaker and under the new name of Pitch Black, Nightmare King and Boogeyman.




	11. Chapter 11

“How dare you!”

The doors slammed open as a frustrated Manny stormed into the viewing room, now filled with many of the Moon Sentinels who were stationed all over the world to oversee and protect the mortal realm.

“Man in Moon! What is the meaning of this?”

He turned to see the proud African king Lisa striding his way in replescent in his bright blue agbada, heavily laden with polished gold and precious metals. Held firmly in his hand was a simple clay staff and transformed into an elaborate staff engraved with details of the Moon along with Lisa who smoothly transformed into his sister counterpart Mawu midstride. She was similarly dressed in a purple dashiki and matching held wrapped neatly around her head. Mawu placed a gentle hand on Manny’s shoulder, clearing some of the more livid thoughts on how to deal with that backstabbing trickster.

Clearing his throat and straightening his robes, Manny strode further into the room with a stiff bow of his head.

“Apologies to my fellow Sentinels for my emotional arrival, but I have an urgent matter I wish to discuss with you today. That,” pointing angrily at the smug Rabbit, “rabbit has meddled into my dominion and sabotaged my Guardians. I seek punishment from the Moon Council so that I can fix what he has done.”

Mawu/Lisa stared thoughtfully into the viewing bowl. “It seems...that the Council must convene. Circle one and all, for a fair trial to take place. The Earth and all her inhabitants, spirits and mortal alike, will all count upon the results of this matter at hand. May the accused Moon Rabbit and accuser Man in Moon come forth?”

As Manny moved to the center, the room expanded outwards as stands elevated in a circle around the viewing bowl and by the time Manny stood across the viewing bowl from the Rabbit, the rest of the presiding Council had taken their seats elevated above the court floor.

“May the Council oversee and judge this trial with fairness and justice in mind. Man in Moon, Moon Rabbit, do you vow to speak your story without omissions or half-truths, but only the whole truth?”

“I vow.” two voices intoned.

“Then drink from the basin and may the trial begin.”

Both dipped a hand and paw respectively into the basin and raised the shimmery liquid to their lips. Drinking the liquid was like swallowing moonlight, cool and mystical, a powerful feeling of tides and the icy expanse of the universe seemed to reside in the liquid as it slid down their throats. After many centuries of either being part of a trial or watching from the stands, both moon deities knew that they themselves would now glow as if the Moon itself was within them and that any attempts of avoiding or omitting the truth would be shown through their brightness level.

“Now, I wish to understand the argument between you two. Man in Moon, please tell us the full story and your grievance.” spoke the gruff voice of Soma who sat next to Mawu/ Lisa and peered curiously down at the two, brown eyes shining with wisdom from his weathered face.

Though no singular being was in charge, Soma, being one of the older deities alongside Mawu/ Lisa and Chang'e, often led trials and were sought out for their counsel from the other deities. Because of this, the normally mischievous Rabbit kept silent as Manny began to speak.

“As you all are probably aware of, a devastating conflict had occurred between my Guardians of which Harry Potter, now Merith Black the Master of Death and Kozmotis Pitchiner, now Pitch Black the Nightmare King had their child brutally taken from them by their fellow Guardians. In their grief, they lost sight of their job and in the midst of trying to console two of my Guardians while finding an appropriate punishment for the other four, this...this interloper interrupted and replaced my commands with his own. And now because of him, both of them are missing from my sight and their trust in me in shambles. This is why I seek justice from the Counsel.”

On the other side of Mawu/ Lisa, a Chinese woman gazed scrutiny at Moon Rabbit. She was a beautiful woman with skin as pale at porcelain and flowing hair to her shoulders darker than the dark side of the moon. Around her neck, she wore the yang symbol as well as a toad charm that she absentmindedly toyed with as she spoke.

“Thank you Man in Moon. Indeed, this is a very distressing event and I find myself very curious to understand the cause for your intervention Moon Rabbit.”

Withholding a flinch from being under the sharp gaze of the unimpressed goddess, Moon Rabbit began his story.

“I must first state this. My intentions were only to help a fellow Sentinel the best I know how. I know of your relationship with your Guardians is that of a parent and child, and I knew that you’d be deeply affected by this conflict between them.” he said, the glow around him still bright and strong. “However, I’ve told you time and time again that the cursed general shouldn’t be a Guardian; he’s too dangerous and doesn’t obey or even respect the authority of the Moon Sentinels. Those Fearlings that fester within your Guardian have finally overwhelmed him and look what he did! He nearly consumed the mortal realm with despair and darkness while you sat on your laurels thinking about how to spare your precious Guardian. So I did what had to be done. I ordered your more obedient Guardians to lock them away so that the realms could remain safe once more. So please, understand me Council when I say that I did this with the world’s safety in mind.” Moon Rabbit finished in a somber tone.

“Thank you Moon Rabbit. The Council must now make a decision based on what we’ve heard.” murmured Chang’e as she flung her hand in the air, invoking a glimmer in the air that settled into a spherical bubble around Man in Moon and Moon Rabbit that blocked the rest of the Council from their ears and eyes.

There was an awkward silence between the two beings until Moon Rabbit spoke quietly.

“It was for the best interests of everyone involved, even that demonic Guardian that you favor.”

Man in Moon stared determinedly ahead, face blank and emotionless as he awaited the Council’s decision.

Flustered by the lack of reaction, Moon Rabbit continued, his words slowly beginning to tumble over each other. “This was the best course of action to keep everyone happy. It was for his own good that he’s locked away; Manny, surely you can understand that?” he finished almost pleadingly.

Moon Rabbit was slightly anxious. He and MiM had been friends for over a millennia, before humans were even on the planet Earth for the protection of Moon Sentinels. They’ve played pranks and interfered in each other’s business, including in each other’s various Guardians over the decades. But when Kozmotis Pitchiner under the influence of the Fearlings stood where they were now standing after the Battle of the Moon and was placed under the care and rehabilitation of Manny, he saw his friend change.

As time passed, Manny became more protective of his Guardians, spending unnecessary time worrying over them like a fretting mother hen over her children. When his troublesome demon got in trouble, Manny treated it like he was merely a rebelling mortal adolescent instead of a former general turned Fearling puppet that had attempted to take over the stars. It had only gotten worse with the newest addition to Manny’s Guardians and now nobody was allowed to interfere with them, not even Moon Rabbit. And to be honest, in the innermost recesses of his mind, he was jealous. In the process of taking care of his Guardians, Manny gradually withdrew from the other Sentinels and left Moon Rabbit alone and without his best friend.

Because of his trickster personality and the fact that he played pranks on the other moon deities, sometimes rather cruelly, many of them had long become wary and disinclined to trust him. So Moon Rabbit became envious and spiteful of Manny’s Guardians and when an opportunity to free his friend from his unhealthy and self-imposed obligation to his Guardians, Moon Rabbit took it without hesitation. But now his best friend, only friend really, was furious with him and despite the fairness of this trial, Moon Rabbit knew no one really liked him and therefore nothing was in his favor. And as he prepared himself for the Council’s verdict, he glanced one more time at Manny and briefly wondered what punishment could be worse than the loss of Manny’s friendship.

The bubble quietly popped as both Man in Moon and Moon Rabbit solemnly looked up at the Council.

Chang’e started first, her gentle voice floating through the room. “The Council has discussed both sides of the story and the events that have led up to the situation and this is our decision.”

Mawu/Lisa continued from there. “Man in Moon, Pitchiner Black has attempted several takeovers and has misused his powers; powers meant to protect the wellbeing of the mortals and the spirits. Because he is under your jurisdiction, the punishment for those actions will fall to you. However, in light of the current situation and examining the cause of this most recent siege against the world, he shall be pardoned under the condition that those Fearlings will be exorcised from his being; they cannot be allowed to stay any longer.”

“But the effects it could have on him are unknown!” protested Man in Moon vehemently. “You’re talking about something deeply rooted in his mind and center, if you take out the Fearlings, despicable as they may be, it could ruin the great man he still shows signs of returning to.”

“That is a risk we’re willing to make.” Soma declared sternly. “You’ve avoided this moment for far too long, and the Council will no longer accept any of your excuses. We have allowed your rebellious Guardian to have free reign, but the safety of the realms can no longer be under threat. This is our ultimatum; it is far more lenient than it would have been under normal circumstances, do you agree?”

Man in Moon stared back at the Council unflinchingly. “I won’t agree to the terms until I hear what sentence you’re giving Moon Rabbit.”

Glances were exchanged between Council members before Mawu/Lisa acquiesced.

He turned his ancient eyes to the twitching Rabbit who froze under his gaze.

“Moon Rabbit,” he said slowly, “your trickster games have placed you in this spot before us numerous times over the past millennia, but never has the consequences been this severe, to the point that several lives have been ruined. It appears that we have also been lenient with your behavior for far too long, so this punishment will encompass all your previous misdemeanors as well.”

A proud Roman rose from her chair, steely gray eyes boring into the rabbit. Her voice rang clearly over the assembly as she stated Moon Rabbit’s punishment.

“Your punishment, as agreed upon by myself and my fellow members have decided to temporarily strip you of your titles as Moon Sentinel and banish you to the mortal realm as a real rabbit, cursed to die and live again until proper compensation the torment and anguish you have caused others.”

Moon Rabbit’s got wider with every word, and as the Roman deity began finishing her declaration, the frantic rabbit began pleading with the Council, desperately pawing at MiM’s robes for a show or mercy from his lifelong friend. But his cries went unheard and for all his pleading, MiM remained like a statue, unmoved and uncaring of Moon Rabbit’s sentence. A bloodcurdling scream left the Rabbit’s mouth as a painful tug at his center, his power and immortality. His ethereal white fur began to dull as his decorative robes vanished, his mochi bowl and pound stick falling to the floor with a clang. He fell to the floor on all four legs as he began shrinking, his screams tapering off to the squeals of a frightened animal, uncomprehending of the world around it. The rabbit cowered in its spot until with a flick of her hands, Chang’e whisked it off to the mortal realm.

A flicker of sadness saw could be seen in MiM’s eyes, but if any Council member saw, they kept silent as they got back to the case at hand.

“Wasn’t that rather lenient of the Council?” said MiM. “He no longer has the same intelligence as he did when he was a deity, won’t it merely feel like a long nap before he resumes duty?”

Soma, creator of the elixir of immortality, smiled vindictively as he replied. “Not to worry Man in Moon, our dear Rabbit friend will remember everything once he’s given his power. And just so we get our little rabbit back quicker, a few of us have made sure that some of his rebirths are located in very interesting places like Europe and China; I hear the mortals there are very partial to rabbit. Rest assured that he will have received the proper punishment for his...pranks, once this is all over with. But never mind him right now, we’ve given the Rabbit his sentence; will you comply with yours?”

“For the best interest of my Guardian,...I will comply.”

Mowa/ Lisa continued from there, gracefully raising his arms as the doors to the room were opened and the unconscious body of Kozmotis Pitchiner was levitated in. He was brought to a stop next to MiM who glanced at him with poorly concealed worry before staring back at the Council.

“Very good, very good.” muttered Mowa/ Lisa as he examined MiM’s unconscious Guardian for what felt like hours, but was merely a few minutes.

“I have a suggestion.” she said abruptly, switching her intense gaze to a bewildered Man in Moon. “I know you are still thinking of a fitting punishment for those four Guardians that started this, and I have a great idea.”  
Her accent began to thicken and slur slightly in her excitement as she told MiM and the Council of her idea. “Firstly, you will have no contact at all with the Guardians on Earth while we find a way to purge Pitchiner of this dark plague. Once he is free of Fearling influence, we will stage his ‘escape’ to the mortal realm where he will be allowed the attempt to take over and teach his fellow Guardians a lesson and punishment in one. As long as none of the Guardians are killed, it should make a suitable compensation, agreed?”

The silence in the room was stifling for all the Council members as they awaited the Man in Moon’s response.

“I agree.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this feels like a filler chapter after a long, painful drought and it might not even be that great, but I wanted to put this out and as I continue trying. I hope you've enjoyed this story, and thank you for those who've been so patient with me and those who are new to this story. It's soon reaching its conclusion so please be patient with me. Thank you!!


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